It was only days ago that I heaped praise on Pelikan for making excellent quality pens, and supporting fountain pen fans, and suggested that all of us might consider supporting Pelikan in return, by buying one of their excellent pens before the next Hub.
I even suggested to a commentator that he make his next Pelikan pen purchase a “really special and splashy one.”
Well, now, Pelikan has come out with what to me the M600 Vibrant Orange. And I have taken my own advice. Which is not how this was supposed to work.
But I was never going to be able to resist the Vibrant Orange. It’s definitely my favorite type of fountain pen: fun. The Vibrant Orange looks to rival only the legendary M600 Pink in fun. It’s pedal-to-the-metal, absolute “I’m not a dork even though this is a fountain pen,” full-on fun. And in the M600 size.
The only thing that could have made this any better is if it were a Lamy Safari.
And/or not $440 in the United States.
Still, it’s the pen for me. As soon as I saw the earliest announcement from a European dealer, I ordered one from Dan Smith, the Nibsmith — before it was even up on anyone’s website, before I knew the US price. Oooh, pro-tip: if you have fountain pen dealers in your cellphone contacts, these things happen.
Candidly, I’ve been hoping for this pen for years, since I first saw a Pelikan M320 in this material.
I’m getting a broad nib. More seriously, I ordered from Dan because the Nibsmith is a US dealer, and he’ll grind the nib or just adjust the flow for free, which I appreciate. Plus he’s got a little pre-order package going, including free shipping. Plus he’s a friend of the blog. Plus, he’s in my cellphone contacts.
Though apparently, that is no mark of distinction, because his phone number is right at the top of his website. Hmph. On the other hand, opportunity missed. If I can order a pizza from Domino’s by texting 🍕 I should have just ordered this with 🍊✒️ 💸.
I will refine this by next year. Until then, no more pen purchases. 😇
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Fountain Pen Follies 
Thanks for the review.
It is a really gorgeous pen, but with one drawback: the material is so translucent that the ink darkens the part of the body of the pen where it is stored. One option could be to use a light coloured ink, in which case the ink is less visible, but I prefer to use darker reds, purples or browns so a lighter ink (orange? amber?) is not a solution. But it was not a pen to miss, so I also succumbed to the siren songs from Hannover…
One interesting thing is that the body’s translucent qualities are close to what I’ve seen appear on the Pelikan M600 Shanghai, (one of my Grail pens but which seems impossible to find at sensible prices). That had a mixture of red and orange, with the ink flowing quite visibly inside. The Vibrant Orange seems to be the closest to the Shanghai which gives it (for me) added appeal.
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Yes, it’s like the Shanghai material, which Pelikan has put it on other pens, too, like the M600 Vibrant Green and the M805 Ocean Swirl, but I also think the orange brings out the best in it. I think of it like this: the price on the Shanghai and Athens, the San Francisco, and some of the others, has long dwelled in “too insane for me” land, but I can use that as an excuse to buy ones like the Vibrant Orange when they come out. 🙂 You can only have so many, if you’re not collecting. Ah, I don’t really mind the ink darkening effect, but then I like clear and translucent pens ….
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Wow, it really looks SO much like those Dolce Vitas, at least to me untrained eye. I thought that’s what it was at first! I wonder why Pelikan went for this colour scheme, given how closely it’s associated with another company? Or is it just that they don’t compete at all?
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If it’s the same material as the earlier Pelikan, it’s not as much like the Dolce Vita (which was a gorgeous pen) as it may appear from that photo. But Pelikan, along with Sheaffer and Parker and all the great fountain pen companies, have a history of using wild and fun materials in their pens. Some of the early 100 models from Pelikan were so fun! I’ve never seen an orange one, but the wild reds and some of the materials like the tortoises (back then) and lizards were off the hook.
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Good for them, that’s as it should be! Wild & fun is the way to go. If you write a lot, you’re not always writing things that are inherently fun and interesting, nor do you have the time to slow down and make your writing pretty, so it’s great to have something nice to look at while you do it.
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Beautiful… this and the Stone Garden the temptation is truly terrible, but it really can’t be both.
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Sure it could!
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It’s gorgeous! I was going to say I wish it were available in 800 size, but then I realized my Dolce Vita gives me something like that, although the color is slightly different and, well…. the Dolce Vita just isn’t a Pelikan.
I bet you’ll really love this one. And with Dan’s touch, it just doesn’t get any better than that!
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Totally. I think it’s Pelikan nibs and the flexibility to interchange them that makes the difference for me. I sold my beautiful (and similar) Aurora Optima Sole this year because I really just use Aurora’s F and M nibs, and I have enough of those. But with Pelikan, I like all the modern nibs from EF to BB, and I can swap them from pen to pen. I even have two architect’s nibs, a stub or two and some vintage nibs I can use.
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Great decision. This colour looks gorgeous.
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A $400+ Dreamsicle.
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Sweet dreams, though.
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No pen purchases till next year? Good luck keeping that resolution! Well, I guess since we’re in October already, maybe you can do it…I probably won’t be able to! I already have the baby chick version, the Orange M320, and I love that lil’ pen. And she needs a big sister. So…well, you know the rest!
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Welcome! The water’s lovely, jump right in!
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I knew you would not be able to resist this one. 🙂
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Oh come on. I can resist anything but temptation. 😄 No, I have been waiting for this particular pen for so many years, that I had to. Also, for humanity and all. 🤪
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The orange one is really pretty alright. I was drawn to the green or blue one a bit more. The price kept me from getting one. Maybe someday that will change. I am sure you will love this latest version, and it is an attention grabber!
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I KNEW this was gonna be a must buy for you! Like anything Tealquoise is for me XD
I do like it a lot, but not enough to sell my first born to afford it.
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I’m keeping the first born, but there are days the third might be negotiable. 😊😝
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